Esther Yardley

A third-generation Southern California local, Esther grew up in a household with six siblings. Dad was and is still today a local business owner, and Mom taught all seven of the kids from home back when homeschooling was a pioneering effort. During a time when strangers would stop you in the grocery store for being out of school during the day, Esther realized from a young age that her family was a bit unusual, and she wouldn't have it any other way. 

During her youth, Dad was quick to volunteer the entire family for tasks from running the register at a speakers tour to picking up trash alongside MacArthur Blvd. Mom was a part of women’s ministry and had a knack for event planning – causing Esther and her siblings to learn how to work hard in any position before, during, and after the events. This instilled a work ethic and desire to contribute in Esther that she carries with her into any working environment. 

The church she grew up in was a mega church, and at one point each of her four older siblings held jobs at the church. She was able to go behind the scenes and learn what it takes for an organization to successfully have different talents showcased in a set amount of time. This grew into a love for live productions, and the beauty of having an audience receive the hard work of all those behind the scenes. When she was old enough, she begged her parents to let her join the theater productions. Like any young girl, she hoped to be the lead but never was cast with any more than five lines. She spent her time with the audio and visual team during spare rehearsal time and fell more in love with the unseen moving parts of the theater.

The creativity her parents showed in teaching her came often from outside the family– in fourth grade her family started following around a woman with a revolutionary curriculum: Use Art to Teach Everything. While all her siblings enjoyed the class and saw their artistic talents grow, Esther felt a special connection to the materials. With that, she jumped at the chance to work for Kim Frassett while still in high school, and never looked back. She has had the honor of learning firsthand from Kim Frassett and was mentored into being her substitute teacher. 

Esther watched as Terra Arts grew from being a one-woman operation to the community it has become and has taken many roles throughout the years of its changing; from kinder assistant to campus substitute to secondary science teacher when the campus had only four teachers. In 2017 CEO Kim Frassett was recommended for surgery by her doctor, and Esther became her temporary replacement in teaching the core class “History with Art”. After her recovery, parents had reviews for Kim about the shift in teachers. They loved Esther, which freed Kim to be the full-time CEO to grow the program to what it is today. 

Since the conception of the Theater Department at Terra Arts, Esther has volunteered in roles from set designer, to backstage manager, to even janitor when needed. The collaborative art form is a passion that is in a way a culmination of her history: a big group of people using their talents and willingness to make something special happen. In 2022 Esther was invited to head up the Theater Department alongside Desmond Sheehan, Terra Art’s resident musician. The following year, Esther reached out to a former high school theater connection, Samantha Charles. The three make for a strong team, and all share the same values.